Valve mechanism for rock-drilling engines.



'vALvnxEcHANIsu Foa BooK' DBILLING ENGINES.

APPLIOATIOX FILED 001223, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.l

Patented Apr. 8, 1913.

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9 fwn J. G. LBYNEILf VALVE MECHANISM FOR ROCK DRILLING ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.23, 1911.

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^ .JNiTED' STATES' PATENT OFFICE.

JOHNA 'GEORGE LEYNEB,

or DENVER, cammino..

vaLvn mncnnmsnr For. 'Boex-params ENGINES.

- Patented Apr'. s',`19i13.

5#application led October 23, 1611. vSerial lj'o. 656,266.-

fluid actua-ted valve mechanism' forl rock' drilling engines, and the objects of my, in-l vention are: First, to provide a.-valve controlled port mechanism -that is so arranged that-the live pressure of the actuating fluid is exerted direct-ly against` theo posite ends of the hammer piston and, o

to cause said actuatin forward `or drill bit riving strokes of the hammer piston andthe rearward or. inoperative strokes ofthe hammer piston, to` any predetermined differing degrees, of cushioning action desired, to permit the hammer piston to strike free from restraining presi sures, to the full limit of its operative drill bit driving strokes, and to'if'ully cushion it 0n its rearward strokes a inst the rearend part of the cylinder, an to provide independent and auxiliary exhaust ports for instantly releasing the hammer piston of.

back pressures independent of the regular exhaust port feature ofthe valve controlled port mechanism, Second, to provide a valve mechanism in which the actuating Huid is. directed to impinge the vopposite vends'oi` the hammer piston and lateral pressure ofthe actuating fluid against the piston is avoided, and in which direct and auxiliary exhaust ports to the atmosphere are providedat o Dosite end portions of the cylinder in ependent of the valve andh-ammer pistons actuating fluid inlet ports. And third, to provide a removable and `renewable valve inclosing` bushing that is adapted to be inserted in the valve chest and is arranged with ports registering -with the operative actuating fluid inlet exhaust ports, and that" is adapted with the valve to be removed andv replaced by a new bushing and' valve when they have worn'away to such an extent that they interfere with ytheir eilicien'cy` in controlling the' actuating fluid. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

the valvesimultaneously, andis also so arranged that the reciprocal movement. of the hammerA piston; controls the movements ofthe valvev fluid to cushion the 1.-@ 1 is-@al vertical longitudinal sectiona viewof the hammer piston cylinder and valve chest of arock'; drilling engine,- illusl trating .the improved valve mechanism.- Fig. '2 41s a.y transverse vertical sectional view 'on the line 2 -2 of Figfl. FigB isaplan view fthe valve in'closing bushi Vtaken from the under side thereof. Fi' 4 1s an enlarged transverse sectional view t 'ereof on the'y line 'of Fig. 3. Figr is anenlarged longitudinal sectional view through a ortio'n of the bushing, Fig. 6 is a vertical ongitudial sectional viewthrough the hammer pis- I nl cylinder and forward end of a drilling engine, showing the hammer piston midway V.its 'forward stroke, and Jthedrill bit in f v:ille chuck, in position `to receive the blowsV the said hammer piston. Fig. `2' is aI horlzontal sectional-view of the-cylinder on "I5 the-line 7-77 of Fig. 1. Fig. 8 vis a'horizontial sectional yview through the valve chest of.

the cylinder, the sleeve or bushing .therein Being removed.' And Figf9' is a transverse A, i

sectional view on the line 9.-9 of Fig. f6.

A; Similar.y letters of reference 'refer-to similar parts throughout the severalviews.

Referring'to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a cylinder of an actuating fluid operating rock drilling engine, and in "Fig, l an enlargedviewof the cylinder portion and of the hammer piston and the ad` the drilling-engine that support the drill bit in operative relation are shown in Fig.` 6,

yacent parts, is illustratedf'llhe parts of' asl l,

and some other p 'arts of the drilling engine are not illustrated, as they' do not form a part of my presen-tinvention. The cylinder isA provided with a cylindrical bore'2, that is adapted to receive a reclprocating rock cutting drill :bit driving hammer pistonr. The cylinder is'provided with a valve chest` 4, in whicha cylindrical bore 5 is formed.' A cylindrical bushing 6, which Tis -made of any suitable metal, but 'which ,is preferably made of steel, is removably -titted in the bore of the valve chest.

Vprovided with wrench receiving surfaces 8,

The ends of the cylin# drical bore of the valve chest are threaded 'andplufgs 7 are threaded1 to lthemv and are by which they may be readily turnedinto and out of the end ofthe valve chest, and

the bushing extends throughout the 'length of the. valve v'chest and fits between their inner ends. The valve chest bushing 1s adapted to form a removable and a renewable I lining for 'a circular steni forni of valve-9,

which is'reciprocally mounted" in the lining, but -if' desired, this bushing may be.v disl 'pensed with andthe valve fitted reciprociilly in the bore of the valve chest. The valve chest is lprovided with an actuating fluid inlet' port aperture 10, in which an operative hollow plugform of valve 10A is rotatably seated. This valve projects from Vthe oppositeend ofv the cylinder. from the inlet iport,and is provided with a handle 10B, and

it is also provided'with a `port 10?. `This port 10C registers with an operative system of actuating liuid inlet and exhaustv ports,-

that lead the actuating fluid into and out of the valve-chest and valve and the opposite ends of the cylinder. These ports comprisel a central port 11, that leads from the inlet port IOintol the center ofthe valve chest and its bushing and of the valve, and twoI annular ports 12 and 13, which are formed at short butequal distances from the central from the port 10, on opposite sides of it, which register with two ports 14 and .15, that extend ports -12 and 13 vthrough the shell of the cylinder tothe opposite ends of the hammer pistons bore of the cylinder, and a pair of exhaust ports 16 and 17, that are formed outside :of the ports. 12 and 13 from the centralport 1 0, andat a short `distance from them, and between them andthe ends A of the valve chamber in the bushing.

The bushing when used, is provided with circumferential rows of ports that register with the inlet vand exhaust ports of the valve chest. 'Thus the central inlet port 11 of the valve chest registers with ports-11A of' the- -bushingpports 12 and 13 register with ports .12A and v13A of the bushing, and the interior wall of the bushing is provided with annular groove ports 12B and 13}3 that are cut into one-half of the diameter of port holes 12A and 13A, and these inner port grooves are formed in the sides of each row of lthe port holes 12.l and 13A of the bushing that.

lie nearest to the central inlet port holes 11", and the groove port 12B acts to admit a vfuller and freer' -volume of the actuating fluid to' the" lcylinder port 14 at the begin: ning of the valves opening movement of the bushing ports 12, which provides a quick and large volume of cushioning fluid for the rearward stroke of the hammer piston, while the groove port. 131 is arranged to admit af fuller volume ofthe actuating fluid atfthe close of the opening movement of the'valve.

The bushing is also provided with two circumferen'tialexhaust .port grooves 16A andl 17A, at its opposite. ends, in the. bottom of which a circumferential row of exhaust port holes 17"A is formed. .The circumferential" exhaust grooves register with the exhaust ports 16 and 17 of 'the valve` chest. There is also an open slot port17C on one'endv of thebushing and an open slot port 17D in the opposite end of the bushing, which register inany suitable manner.

'with-'ports 18,;3fand*i1-llY formed inthe bottom ofthe opposite endsof the valve chamber, and which I- term`live actuating fluid ports,

and which "extend from .predetermined points in the hammer piston bore of the cylinder to the ends of the valve chamber of the valve chest. These ports maybe formed I preferably, however, form them in the followin j Apertures 18Av and 19A are dri led down through the valve chest and cylinder into the hammer piston bore-ofthe cylinder, and

these holes at their end portions that extend from the piston bore toward the valve chest are plugged up with metal pins 20 and 21,

in-which axial apertures are drilled from the l cylinder ends to Within'a short. distance be intersected by angular port holes drilled from the opposite ends of the inside bottom Wall of the valve chamber through the shell of the cylinder and the pins into their axial aperture, thus formingcontinuous passage.

from their opposite ends, and'far enough-to be obtained. The function of. these ports is i of the hammer piston cylinder. into theadjacent end ofthe Valve chamber by a short and direct path as the openings of'these lports into the hammer piston cylinder areIl alternately uncovered by said"p1ston in yits reciprocating movement. A the valve of thus allowmg' the hammer pis- .ton actuating Huid to act against its ends 1s to cause the valve to move 1n the same d1-V rection as the vhammer piston. 'This movement of the valve closes one set of ports and opens another set, 'where'by actuating 'luid is allowed to flow into..the Jop osite end of the hammer piston cylinder be ore the ham- 'mer piston reaches fthe extreme end of its stroke, and this causes said piston to be 'cushioned The degree to which said piston is cushioned may vary from a great degree down topractlcally no cushlonmg effect at `to admit the actuating'iluid from the end The effect upon all, depending upon the location of these 4 port vopenings 20,21 in the Walls with respect to the travel of the piston. As can be easily seen from a consideration of the draws ings, the sooner such a port is uncovered -by v the hammer piston as it moves-from the be ginnin of its stroke in a certain direction under t e influence of the fluid on one of-its ends, just so'mueh soonerwill said fluid en- CIT the cushioning commencing immediately after the impact of the piston on the drill. The piston moves, thereafter, with a retarded motion to theend of its stroke, at which point it is abutting the'collar 25. The cushioning of the piston on its rearward stroke is adjusted to begin earlier in this stroke to prevent any impact of the piston against the rear cylinder ring 31.

My present valve mechanism is a great improvement over that shown in 4my above mentioned pending application, inasmuch as it admits the live actuating fluid by direct and short ports from the cylinder to the nearest port of the opposite ends of the valve, and moves it much quicker and with a greater energy of pressure behind it.

In the old valve port mechanism of my former patents the actuating fluid ports from the cylinder to the opposite ends of the valve are tortuous and extend in a roundabout way that creates a great deal of friction and causes a'retarding eect on the flow of the actuating fluid that makes it slower in acting on the end of the valve.

The valve is a stem form of valve that is arranged with four collars 33, two of which are at its opposite ends and the other two are intermediate of its ends. These-collars are arranged to register operatively with the inlet ports 12 and 13, and the exhaust ports '16 and 17, and through the flanges of its opposite end collarsv ports 34 and 35 are formed, which permit the actuating fluid to exhaust through these ports into the regular exhaust ports 17 B and 16 and 17.

ln order to facilitate the exhaust of the actuating fluid from the hammer piston cyly inder, I provide its shell portion with two auxiliary exhaust ports 36 and 37. These auxiliary exhaust ports are preferably placed in the opposite side of the cylinder from the valve chest and its ports, and they are preferably positioned close to the inner end of the forward stroke of the hammer piston and to the inner end of its rearward stroke, so that at the instant the hammer piston has delivered its forward blow the actuating `fluid has an open exhaust port directly behind the rear end-of the piston and on its rearward stroke direct-ly in frontof the front end of the hammer piston, when at the end of its rearwardstroke, which permitsa portion of the actuating fluid to instantly exhaust the atmosphere, and to that extent relieves the hammer piston from back pressure, which if these ports were not present, would tend to retard its free reciprocal action under the entering live actuating fluid, while not of practical use incushioning its reciprocal strokes at the proper instant, and in its cushioning positions in the cylinder.

The hammer piston Vis p rovided with a spirally l'luted nut 38, that preferably projects .from its rear end, andthe rear cylinder ring 1s provided with an axial apert-ure large enough for it to move into on the rear stroke of the hammer piston. The rifle bar 29 is shown projecting from the nut through the cylinder ring, and it is provided with a head portion 30, that rests against the rear side of the cylinder ring. These features do' not form a part of my present application, but are fully described with the rear portion of anoperative rock drilling engine in my above mentioned-pending application.

The operation of my improved valve mechanism is as follows: Any suitable actuating fluid may be used, such as compressed air or steam, compressed air being preferably us'ed. This air is admitted to the inlet port by anysuitable means andthe actuating fluid is turned on or oft1 from the inlet ports and valve controlled port mechanism by manually turning the throttle valve by its handle, and the actuating fluid on being admitted to the central valve chest port enters the bushing and the valve between its inner collars and enters the cylinder port that happens to be either partially or wholly open, as the valve and the inlet ports are arranged so that either one or the other of the cylinder inlet ports to the hammer piston bore is either partially or wholly open. As soon as the hammer piston starts to reciprocate it uncovers the valve actuating ports and allows the live actuating fluid to flow directly and'instantaneously to the respective adjacent end of the valve and moves it with a quick positive throw movement that opens and closes the cylinder inlet and exhaust ports and properly cushions the hammer piston at'the opposite ends of its reciprocal strokes, while the auxiliary exhaust port apertures allow a part of the exhaust fluid near the opposite ends of the hammer piston when at the ends of its forward and rearward strokes, to quickly exhaust by short straight ports to the atmosphere.

My improved valve controlled port mechanism provides a positive lightning action piston and valve operating mechanism that gives to the hammer piston the greatest drill bit driving blows obtainable, vinasmuch as it eliminates cushioning and back pressures', except at the actual points' and at the instant they are required.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred construction and arrangement of my invention, I do not Wish to be limitedto the construction and arrangement shown,`

cylinder having Huid inlet Aand exhaustv ports leading from saidvalVe-chest, a valve in said valve-chest controlling saidports,'

said valve and said cylinder having coperating ports, the walls of said ports having' parts .cut away atl the port openings Wheneby to permit of the admission of a large amount of fluid for cushioning said piston at the instant said Valve begins to open said ports. l

2. In a valve controlled port mechanism for rock drilling engines, the combination of the cylinder, the hammer piston reciprocally mounted therein, the Valve chest on said cylinder, and the system of fluid` inlet and exhaust ports in sa1d valve chest, with a renewable bushing removably secured in said chest, said bushing being provided with circumferential reWs of actuating fluid inlet and Iexhaust ports, and circumferential grooves on the inner peripheral wall of said bushing, arranged in predetermined positions to intersect a part of the diameter of said circumferential row of inlet ports, and having an outer annular groove arranged to inclose the circumferential rows of exhaust ports of said bushing, and a valve reciprocally mounted in said bushing, valve actuating fluid ports in said cylinder at the opposite ends of said valve chamber, and ports in the opposite ends of said bushing registering with said valve chamber ports.

3. In a valve mechanism as specied, a casting comprising a cylinder and valve chest, and having cylinder portsextending from the central portion of the valve chestto the opposite ends of the cylinder, and

valve chest ports extending from the'opposite ends ot the valve chest, and opening into the cylinder at suitable distances from its ends, said latter portsbeing in the form of tubes which extend lthrough the cylinder ports, and which are tapped at their upper ends to communicate with short ports lead.

ing from the said oppositeends ofthe valve chest, a slide valve in the chest for controlling said ports, a hammer piston which opens the valve chest ports in alternate order, and a throttle valve connected lWith ay ses4 i part of the valve chest to the opposite ends f of the cylinder, valve chest ports in the form of tubes which extend down through the cylinder ports and open into the cylinder intermediate of it-s ends, and which connect at their upper ends with ports leading to the v adjacent ends of the valve chest, a hammer piston in the cylinder which opens the valve chest ports in alternate order, a slide valve in the valve chest for controlling the cylinder ports, an inlet port being formed. inthe valve chest between the cylinder ports andA communicating with them, and a throttle valve connected with a pressure supply and with the said inlet port.

5. In a valve mechanism as specified, a casting comprising a cylinder and valve from the central part of the valve chest'to the opposite ends of the cylinder, oblique valve chest ports ext-ending inV from opposite ends of the valve chest, and tubes communicating with said ports, and extending from the valve chest down through the cylinder ports .and opening into the cylinder at chest and having cylinder ports extending predetermined distances from its ends, the

upper ends of said tubes being closed, a

hammer piston in thecylinder which opens 1 the 'valve chest ports in alternate order, a4

slide valve in the valve chest, said'chest be? ing provided with an inlet port communieating .with the cylinder ports, andy With'exhaust ports, said exhaust and cylinder ports being controlled by the slide-valve, and a throttle valve connected with a pressure source and with the said inlet port.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses. i

JOHN GEORGE LEYNER.

- Witnesses: RonEnT J. WALTMAN,

ELIZABETH F. MoKooN. 

